Connected wearable devices, or “connected wearables,” can include, for example, electronic watches or “smartwatches,” activity trackers or “smart wristbands,” electronic glasses or “smartglasses,” and other electronic devices that can be worn on a user's body and support one or more wireless technologies, such as, for example, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS (Global Positioning System). Connected wearables may enable the user to enjoy active lifestyles, in-person interactions, and/or live social settings without keeping a full-sized, full-featured smartphone at hand, but still stay connected to certain network-based features. For example, many connected wearables may be paired with a smartphone in order to receive notifications therefrom (e.g., via Bluetooth) and share other functionalities therewith, essentially serving as a front end for the phone. As another example, some connected wearables, including certain smartwatches, have autonomous GPS capabilities, independent of a smartphone, and can display maps and offer navigation services.
There is an increasing demand for connected wearables that can offer experiences native to the device itself and/or can operate without keeping a smartphone nearby. This level of independent functionality requires connection to a cellular network or other wireless wide area network (WWAN), in addition to Wi-Fi or other wireless local area network (WLAN), Bluetooth or other wireless personal area network (WPAN), and/or GPS. However, due to their wearable and portable nature, wearable devices tend to be small in size, which physically limits the radio-frequency performance capabilities of such devices. Good antenna performance becomes even more difficult to achieve when trying to pack all of the antennas required for 2G, 3G, 4G, WWAN, WLAN, WPAN, and GPS connectivity into a wearable form factor. Accordingly, there is an opportunity for a connected wearable with good antenna performance across various wireless networks, include WWAN.